Panda gets a new stage

"Kung Fu Panda is, at its heart, a story about being true to yourself and realizing your full potential. So, Po begins the story as the underdog and in the end becomes the Dragon Warrior. "He learns to be the best panda he can be.

"That kind of story is perfect for audiences of all ages-kids and adults-because people love to root for a character to achieve his dreams," Stroman says.

Another reason, she says, for her to give a nod to the production without hesitation is, "I was already very familiar with Kung Fu Panda because I'm a huge fan of Jack Black."

Separately, the DreamWorks' animation and technical teams had already done a massive amount of research in China, especially Chengdu, in Sichuan province, to ensure the authenticity of the Kung Fu Panda movies, which gave Stroman a heads-up.

As for the performance's similarities with the movies, Stroman says: "This is a story that belongs to the Chinese, and is filled with humor and heart. Our show still respects the look of the movies and uses some of the animation and music from the films, and also incorporates the animation's color patterns which have significance in Chinese tradition."

The casting sessions were held all over the world, producing a cast of 51 actors from 19 nationalities. So, 30 percent of the cast are Chinese actors, while the rest are from the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, America and Germany, with all actors having both acrobatic and comedy skills.

Recalling her career, Stroman says she was influenced by her father, who loved playing the piano. And she remembers listening to him play and being able to visualize music in her mind, where she could see people dancing and moving.

She also grew up watching every Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie on television with her parents. And it was from those movies that she began to understand the relationship between music and actors.

"I saw how Fred structured his dance steps like a story with a beginning, middle, and end. So, from a very early age I wanted to create something like that-to tell a story onstage using dance and music," she says.

As one of the most celebrated directors and choreographers working on Broadway today, Stroman launched her career in 1992 by choreographing the original Broadway production of Crazy for You, a romantic comedy, which won her first Tony Award for Best Choreography. In 2001. Then, Stroman directed and choreographed the Broadway adaptation of The Producers, which won her two Tony Awards: Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography.

Four years after that, she made her directorial debut with a film based on the show, The Producer, which was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards.